Cutter head for adzing machines



March 1957 R. G. SIMMONS ETAL CUTTER HEAD FOR ADZING MACHINES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 16, 1954 INVENTORS. Ma WWW 9 March 1957 R. e. SIMMONS ETAL 2,785,714

CUTTER HEAD FOR ADZING MACHINES Filed June 16, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent Q ice 31223;

CUTTER HEAD FOR ADZING MACHINES Richard Glenn Simmons, Franklin Park, and Russell Edward Paulson, Itasca, Iii.

Application June 16, 1954, Serial No. 437,028

4 Claims. (Cl. 144-219) The present invention relates to a cutter head for adzing machines, and more particularly, a cutter head for adzing machines adapted to be used for treating railroad cross ties that have been damaged by the bouncing of the flanged wheels of railway cars on the cross ties when such cars have been derailed.

In our copending application, Serial No. 409,404, filed February 10, 1954, which matured into Patent No. 2,712,841 on July 12, 1955, we disclosed a machine for smoothing damaged cross ties which employs a cutter head rotating about a vertical axis and mounted to swing up and down and from side to side on a rail car, so as to reach any part of the cross ties where injury occasioned by the derailing of railway cars has occurred. The cutter head cuts away the damaged wood and leaves the ties with smooth upper surfaces that will shed water and resist rotting. The present invention is particularly adapted for use on such a machine.

It is a principal object of the invention to provide a cutter head designed to cut in a railroad cross tie, along the portion thereof that has been damaged by the flanged wheels of derailed railway cars, a fiat, uniform, smooth surface with beveled sides that sheds water well, leaves the strength of the tie at a maximum, and presents a neat appearance.

Another object of the invention is to provide a cutter head for use on adzing machines which is economical of manufacture, convenient in use, capable of ready attachment to and detachment from existing adzing machines or the like, and capable of use under a wide variety of operating conditions.

a A further object of the invention is to provide a cutter which allows the operator to perform the adzing operation with greater safety than was heretofore possible.

According to the present invention we provide a cutter head for marking machine comprising a spider casting having a central body portion and six outwardly extending arms, all inclined at their ends at substantially the same angle, with the body portion being adapted to be mounted on an adzing machine for rotation about its central axis. Each of the outwardly extending arms carries on the side thereof a cutting blade that projects outwardly of the respective arms. Two of the blades are equidistantly spaced from the axis of the central body portion and cut in a plane that is parallel to the plane of the cutter head; these two blades project perpendicularly from the cutter head. The remainder of the blades are spaced outwardly of the two said cutter blades and project from the cutter head perpendicularly with respect to the inclined endsof the arms Two of thislast mentioned group ofblades we equidistant from the central axis of the cutter head and are positioned radially to move in an orbit immediately adjacent the orbit in which the first mentioned two blades travel; the remaining two blades are spaced radially to move in adjacent orbits and are normally secured to the inclined ends of the arms. Each of the blades is formed with an outwardly projecting ridge that is adapted to be disposed in a mating groove formed in the side of each arm, and a clamping means fixes the blades in operating position on the cutter head. In operation the head is secured to an adzing machine and rotated; upon being placed in engagement with the damaged portion of a railroad tie or the like and moved along as it cuts, it forms a groove across the tie which has a flat uniform smooth bottom surface and smooth beveled sides.

From the foregoing it will be obvious that the present invention provides substantial advantages over prior practices. For example, the cutter head allows the operator to cut out the damaged portion of a railway tie and re place it with a chamfered groove or swathe that is less likely to split at the cut. Moreover, the cutting of the groove or swathe is at all times under complete control of the operator, which insures that only the necessary amount of wood will be removed and the wood will be cut only Where necessary; such control is far from What is found in hand adzing where cross ties are frequently left with deep, unnecessary cuts and rough, unfinished surfaces that in the past have led to rapid deterioration of the tie.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following description of a preferred embodiment of the cutter head of the present invention.

Now, in order to acquaint those skilled in the art with the present invention and with a manner of using the same, we shall describe, in connection with the accon1- partying drawings, a preferred embodiment of the same.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan view of one form of a cutter head comprising our invention;

Figure 2 is a broken perspective view, partially in section, of the cutter head shown in Figure l, with parts broken away for clarity of illustration;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a cutting blade we employ in the invention;

Figure 4 is a perspective view of a clamping element we employ to secure the cutting blades to the cutter head;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a portion of a cross, tie and a set of cutter blades according to the teachings of the present invention, together with the paths cut by those blades as the machine to which the cutter head is attached travels along over the tie; and,

Figures 6-9 are cross sectional views, partially in elevation, along lines 6-6, 77, 38, and 9-9 of Figure l, with parts broken away for clarity of illustration, showing in outline form the portion of the groove" or swathe which the respective cutting blades cut.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, refer-- ence numeral 19 in Figure 1 generally indicates a preferred form of cutter head or head member of our invention which comprises a central body portion 12 adapted to be mounted for rotation about its central axis and a plurality of outwardly extending arms'14. The elements 12 and 14 may take any desired form and may be made in any manner best suited to obtain the results desired, though we prefer to cast the elements in a single unit in what may be called a spider casting. The cutter head of the present embodiment is provided with six outwardly extending arms 14 (though the number of arms is not critical) having their outer ends 16 inclined at substantially the same angle. Cutting blades 13 are fixed to the surfaces 29 of each arm at points spaced from the central portion 12, and each bladeES is formed with a rectilinear rib or projection 22 that is adapted to fit into a matingrectilinear groove or depression 23 formed in the respec}.

tive surfaces 20; the cutting blades are held vin position by: the clamping elements 24 which are secured against thej;:

respective blades by the action of bolts 26 and nuts 28. Lock washers 29 may be employed also, if so desired.

As shown more particularly in Figures 1 and 69, the respective blades 18 are located on the arms at diversified distances from the central body portion 12, and conse quently the axis thereof about which the cutter head rotates. Two of the blades 18 are fixed to the inner portions of two of the arms as shown in Figure 6, wherein the blade 18 and the clamp 24 therefor are indicated in dotted lines. The blades located as shown in Figure 6 are positioned nearest the central body portion and are equidistantly spaced therefrom. They project perpendicularly from the respective arms and, as shown in the lower portion of'Figure 6, are adapted to cut in a plane that is substantially parallel to the plane of the cutter head. The blades located as shown in Figure 7 are osi tioned radially outwardly of the blades located as shown in Figure 6, and such blades project at an angle of less than ninety degrees with respect to the cutter head; in the illustrated embodiment the blades project perpendicular- 1y to the inclined ends or outer end portions of the arms 14. These latter blades 18 are adapted to cut in an angle inclined to the plane of the cutter head and in the portion of the groove shown in the lower part of Figure 7. The remaining. blades of the illustrated embodiment are positioned in a manner similar to the first set of inclined blades, but are located at different positions on the inclined ends of the remaining two arms and radially outwardly of the first two mentioned pairs of blades. These blades also project at an angle from the cutter head and cut on the same angle as the blades located as shown in Figure 7; as shown in the lower portions of Figures 8 and 9, these blades out further up on the slope of the groove formed by the operation of the cutter head. We comprehend that the shape of the clamping elements 24 for securing the respective blades in position may be modified as suggested in Figures 6-9 so that the respective clamping elements will all be disposed in the plane of the cutter head proper, and the corners thereof will not interfere with the cutting operation.

Referring more particularly to' Figure 5, when the cutter head is secured to a machine, such as that disclosed in our aforementioned application, and applied to the dam-aged upper surface 31 of cross tie 33, the blades rotate in diversified paths'or orbits and cut lterfs or paths 30, 32, 34 and 36 which result in a groove or swathe 38 having a smooth bottom portion and smooth inclined sides; such surfaces are smooth and even, and are well adapted to shed water and resist rot. Moreover, the cutting of the wood is at all times controlled and only as much wood as necessary to smoth the torn surfaces is removed. It is to be noted that in the embodiment illustrated the inner two blades cut the flat bottom portion of the groove, the next two blades cut the low portion of the inclined side walls, the blade furthest out from central portion of the cutter head cuts the upper portion of the inclined side walls, and the blade next to it cuts.

the middle portion of the inclined side walls.

It will be noted that all the blades 18 are square ground and that the under surfaces of each arm 14 and their respective ends 16 are plane surfaces (see Figs. 69). It will therefore be appreciated that adjustment of the blades with respect to the arms and to each other is easy since one need only measure out from each of these planesurfaces to correctly .set the cutting edges of the blades. 'This is. particularly useful in correctly positioning the angled blades 18.

While the cutter head is particularly useful in repairing damaged ties due to derailments, it should be noted that the head is also entirely suitable for use in tie adzing when relaying rails. In both uses the beveled cut has the advantage of nice appearance and actually protects the wood from deterioration from the elements'far better than would be the case with a right angle cut. Also a Cir tie that is out with the beveled cut produced by our head is structurally stronger and less apt to split than when adzed with a right angle cut.

The foregoing description and the drawings are given merely to explain and illustrate our invention, and the invention is not to be limited thereto, except in so far as the appended claims are so limited, since those skilled in the art who have our disclosure before them will be able to make modifications and variations therein without de parting from the scope of the invention.

We claim:

1. A cutter head comprising a spider element including arms each having an inner portion disposed in the plane of the cutter head and an outer end portion inclined with respect to said plane, said outer end portions all being inclined at the same angle, at least one of said arms carrying a cutting blade fixed to its inner portion and disposed perpendicular thereto, and at least one other of said arms carrying a cutting blade fixed to its outer end portion and disposed perpendicular thereto, said cutting blades being square ground, with the first mentioned blade cutting a kerf generally parallel to the plane of said element, and the second mentioned blade cutting a kerf inclined with respect to and merging into the first mentioned kerf.

2. The cutter head set forth in claim 1 wherein another arm of said spider element includes a second cutting blade disposed perpendicular to the plane of said element, and wherein still a further arm of said spider element includes a second cutting blade disposed perpendicular to the plane in which said outer end portions of said arms move and having a different radial spring from that of the second mentioned blade.

3. The cutter head set forth in claim 1 wherein said blades are fixed to one side of the respective arms, said side of each arm being disposed in a plane generally parallel to the axis of rotation of said element, said sides and said blades having, respectively, mutually engaging surfaces including a rib on one surface adapted to be disposed in a groove in the other surface, and clamping means for fixing said blades in position on the respective arms.

4. A cutter head comprising a spider element including six arms each having an inner portion disposed in the plane of the cutter head and an outer end portion inclined with respect to said plane, said outer end portions all being inclined at the same angle, said arms being symmetrically arranged about said cutter head, with two opposed arms each carrying a cutting blade fixed to their respective inner portions and disposed perpendicular to said inner portions, and two other opposed arms each carrying a cutting blade fixed to their respective outer end portions and disposed perpendicular thereto, said cutting bladesza'll being square ground, with the cutting edges of thefirst men tioned blades cutting kerfs generally parallel to the plane Y of the cutter head, and the second mentioned blades cutting kerfs inclined with respect to and merging into the first mentioned kerfs, and with the remaining opposed arms each carrying a square ground cutter blade fixed to theouter end portions thereof and disposed perpendicular thereto, one of thelas't mentioned blades cutting a kerf substantially aligned with and merging into the second mentioned kerfs, and the other of the last mentioned blades cutting a kerf substantially aligned with and me'rg ing into the last mentioned kerf.

- References Cited inthe file of, patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 87,282 Odholm Feb. 23, i869 115,401 Whitesides May 30, 1 871 290,153 Wilcox Dec. ll, 1883 1,249,332 Cline i Dec. 11, 1917 1,907,308 TalbOys May 2, 19:33 2,426382 Wilson Aug. 26, 194? 

